Science Daily January 31, 2018
In nature, C. metallidurans plays a key role in the formation of so-called secondary gold, which emerges following the breakdown of primary, geologically created, ancient gold ores. It transforms the toxic gold particles formed by the weathering process into harmless gold particles, thereby producing gold nuggets only a few nanometers in size. An international team of researchers (Germany, Australia) has discovered the molecular processes that take place inside the bacteria C. metallidurans to extract valuable trace elements, including tiny gold nuggets, without poisoning itself… read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
C. metallidurans can produce small gold nuggets. Credit: American Society for Microbiology